CAIRO - 18 October 2023: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stated on Wednesday that what is happening in Gaza Strip now is not an eagerness to direct military action against Hamas, but rather an attempt to push civilians to seek refuge in Egypt. “We do not justify any violent action against a civilian,” he added. “Over the past years since the peace agreement with Israel, we were keen to make this path a strategic choice, and we seek for this path to be supported by other countries,” he said. “The deterioration is in an unfortunate and unprecedented manner, and the continuation of the current military operations will have security and humanitarian repercussions that could get out of control. There is a danger of expanding the scope of the conflict if all international and regional parties do not unite their efforts to immediately stop the current escalation,” President Sisi added.

CAIRO - 18 October 2023: In a solemn declaration, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has announced a three-day period of national mourning to honor the innocent victims of the heinous attack on the Al-Mamedani Hospital in Gaza. This declaration also extends to commemorate all the martyrs from the beloved Palestinian people. The declaration reflects Egypt's deep condolences and solidarity with the Palestinian people in the face of this tragic incident. The act of national mourning serves as a somber reminder of the human toll inflicted by such acts of violence and underscores the need for peace and stability in the region. This gesture of solidarity reaffirms Egypt's commitment to seeking a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the protection of innocent lives.

WeProtect Global Alliance has released its fourth Global Threat Assessment Report, which revealed there has been an 87% increase in reported child sexual abuse material cases since 2019, with over 32 million reports globally (NCMEC). Since early 2023, cases of perpetrators also using generative Al to create child sexual abuse material and exploit children have been increasing. Thorn found that while less than 1% of child sexual abuse material files shared in a sample of offender communities are currently photorealistic computer-generated imagery (CGI) of child sexual abuse, the volume has increased consistently since August 2022. We are eager to share our expertise with those committed to combatting child sexual abuse effectively. We also need strong legislation to protect children from all forms of online child sexual exploitation, future-proofed against rapidly evolving technologies.”

Amr Talaat, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, inaugurated the first branch of the new generation of post offices that offer a “Drive Thru” service. It allows citizens to access Egypt’s digital services and integrated government, financial, and postal services from their cars without having to leave them. Talaat said that the “Drive Thru” post office in Nasr City is the first of its kind in Egypt. He explained that the “in-car service” office, known as “Drive Thru,” enables citizens to obtain all postal services while in their cars. Talaat also mentioned that a plan is being implemented to expand postal outlets throughout the country, including Egyptian Post, which has about 4,500 post offices.

Egypt has released more than 8 million tonnes of animal feed from its ports in the past year, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Elsayed Elkosayer. He said the feed supplies, worth $3.9bn, were part of the government’s efforts to support the livestock sector and ensure food security. He added that the release of feed was done in coordination with the Central Bank of Egypt and under the directives of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. Elkosayer said that from 22 September to 12 October 2023, the ministry released 319,000 tonnes of corn and soybeans, as well as feed additives, worth $170m. He said the corn and soybeans were essential for producing poultry and dairy products, which are in high demand in the local market.

Cairo – 17 October 2023: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said that Palestine have always warned the world from Israel’s crimes. “We will not allow a new Nakba (catastrophe) in the twenty-first century, and we will not accept the displacement of our people again,” he said. On Tuesday, Israel bombed Gaza Baptist Hospital where thousands of displaced Palestinians took refuge, killing up to 500 people. Palestinian Minister of Health said that the bombing of Gaza Baptist Hospital is a ‘genocide’. ‘We appeal to the international community to protect the Palestinian people’ the minster said.

CAIRO - 17 October 2023: The Chinese delegate to the UN Security Council, Zhang Gong, called for respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, following the Council’s rejection to a Russian draft resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. Chang Jung said: "We call for respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, and we express our concern about Israel's decision to besiege the Gaza Strip." The Chinese delegate added: "We call on Israel to stop collective punishment against the residents of Gaza, and protecting civilians must be a priority for all parties."

Egypt on Saturday will host an international and regional summit to discuss the worsening conditions resulting from Israeli aggression on Gaza. French supportPresident Sisi also met with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to discuss the latest developments in the most prominent regional issues, especially the Gaza Strip. The French side presented its vision on the matter while praising Egypt’s pivotal role in responsibly dealing with the issue and its political and humanitarian aspects. Sisi called to reduce the escalation and not punish civilians collectively via besieging their homes, starvation, or displacement. Fahmy added that during the meeting, an agreement was reached regarding the seriousness of the current situation and its threat to the region.

Egypt - The House of Representatives passed on Monday a bill proposed by the government to grant some facilities to Egyptians living abroad. The bill aims to extend the tax-free car import initiative that allows Egyptians abroad to import cars without paying taxes and fees, in exchange for transferring a certain amount of foreign currency. The bill was discussed by a committee headed by Fakhri Al-Fekki, the Chairperson of the planning and budget committee in the House of Representatives. He said that the bill was a response to the requests of many Egyptians abroad who had not benefited from the previous initiative, which was enacted by Law No. The bill would add three months for eligible Egyptians abroad and their family members to transfer the required amount of foreign currency and import cars without taxes and fees.

Evacuating civilians under international lawEvacuations in armed conflict are strictly governed by international humanitarian law, which seeks to balance military and humanitarian needs. International law requires it to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. As an occupying power under international humanitarian law, Israel may order an evacuation for imperative military reasons, or for the safety of civilians, but civilians must still be protected. Anyone who refuses to evacuate Gaza – or simply cannot evacuate – remains protected as a civilian. Jane McAdam, Scientia Professor and Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney and Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law, Sydney Law School, University of SydneyThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

If you think the ‘soft’ in ‘ghosting’ makes it any softer, wait until you know more about it. First things first, ghosting and soft ghosting are almost the same in terms of an end result. Soft Ghosting: You probably wouldn’t identify it because of how subtle and gradual it’s done. Don’t be quick to assume they are soft ghosting you when something really might be happening at their end. The soft ghosting in itself is your closure.

This is the third consecutive month that the core inflation rate has slowed down. The CBE also reported that the rural annual inflation increased to 42.6% in September 2023, from 41.9% in August 2023. The CBE statement provided a detailed breakdown of the price changes of various items that contributed to the monthly headline and core inflation rates. Prices of other core food items increased by 0.18% to monthly headline inflation. Prices of regulated items increased by 0.5%, contributing by 0.09% to monthly headline inflation.

Heads of multilateral development banks (MDBs) attending this year’s IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Morocco have pledged to strengthen their individual and collaborative actions to accelerate inclusive socioeconomic development. To achieve a greater impact, the institutions have agreed to explore innovations to scale up financing capacity, boost climate action, strengthen co-financing and catalyse private sector engagement. MDBs represented at Friday’s meeting included the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank and the World Bank Group. “Instead, their leaders kept their nations afloat by taking on more debt, which turned out to be a very expensive life raft. The African Development Bank’s delegation to the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings was led by the institution’s senior vice president Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, representing the president of the Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina.

He also emphasized the need to de-escalate, as well as reject collective punishment policies such as siege, starvation, or displacement for civilians. In this regard, he stressed the need for de-escalation, as well as rejecting collective punishment policies such as siege, starvation, or displacement of civilians. He added that there are ongoing Egyptian efforts to contain the escalation in the Gaza Strip. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna expressed her country’s support for the principles of international law in protecting civilians in Gaza and urged restraint and rationality in Gaza. She said that France and Egypt share concerns about the seriousness of the situation in Gaza.

The Egyptian Commodities Exchange (EGYCOMEX) is planning to list new petroleum products on its platform, with a focus on nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, according to a high-ranking source at EGYCOMEX. The source said that EGYCOMEX will begin with listing nitrogen fertilizers, which are widely used in Egypt and need price regulation. The source also said that phosphate fertilizers will be listed at a later stage, after evaluating the performance of nitrogen fertilizers on the platform. El Molla stressed the importance of cooperation between the Ministry and EGYCOMEX to list several products as soon as possible, as a first step towards benefiting all parties involved. Ashmawy expressed his readiness to provide all kinds of support for the success of listing and trading private petroleum products on EGYCOMEX’s platform.